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A Discussion with Wyatt Roy, Former Australian MP

On September 27, 2016, Australian politician Wyatt Beau Roy, met with AUIS students to discuss his experience as the youngest ever elected MP in Australia and youngest ever Minister in the Commonwealth, as well as relations and exchanges between Iraq and Australia.

Roy opened by addressing the current security, economic, and political challenges facing the Middle East in general, and Iraq and its Kurdistan Region (KRI) in particular. He also explained the ways through which Australia partakes in the post-ISIS stabilization and state building process in the region.

Australia being one of the world’s largest exporting countries, Roy stressed the importance of economic relations among countries in fostering change and innovation. In this context, he also underscored Australia’s willingness to further promote foreign investments in infrastructure and technology sectors in Iraq as a means of creating long-term stability.

Roy concluded by presenting some of Australia’s cultural exchange programs, student exchange programs, and refugee programs. “Australia’s second biggest export is education,” he claimed. Discussing the current refugee crisis, Roy also insisted on his country’s important role in welcoming refugees, especially “persecuted minorities.”